Climate Change: Is There Anything You Can Do?

One of the most critical issues that every people are facing today is climate change. It is the condition where it affects not only individuals and their family but also the whole environment. It becomes a challenging struggle as it moves along with the advancement of the industrial revolution. Since everyone is to blame, we know that we are the ones pushing the world into a state that we likely never wanted it to become. Because of that, we need to start evaluating ourselves and move forward to changing ourselves.

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As individuals, the most potent weapon we can bring to the climate change battle is the ability to control our wastes. We have to understand that as individuals, we are more than just a piece of a number. Therefore, the small adjustments that we can consider can bring a massive effect to the world we are living. The greenhouse gases we discharge into the atmosphere damage everything. That’s due to the things we mostly do and buy. So what are these greenhouse gases that we usually emit?

Greenhouse Gases

Carbon dioxide or CO2 is the most dominant greenhouse gases that every one of us produces. It comes from burning fossil fuels that we generally use to provide electricity for our homes. It is what makes our engines run so we can drive to the store. Aside from CO2, there’s methane (CH4). We know that it’s the main component of natural gas. But it also comes from the decomposition of organic matters in the absence of oxygen. Usually, it’s from flooded rice, animals manure, paddies or landfill. The methane mixes its way to the atmosphere via usual channels and process of decomposition. Then there’s N2O or nitrous oxide. It is mostly known as the laughing gas. It gets produced when bacteria break down the nitrogen compounds. These include soils in the ocean. The nitrous oxide excessively adds into the atmosphere with the continuous use of nitrogen fertilizers in farming. These three gases impact the measure of the potential contribution to the atmosphere that increases global warming.

Choices We Can Make

Food

To reduce carbon footprint, we need to consider food production and consumption because it’s the most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. We need to find three factors when buying the goods. How does it get produced, where does it come from, and how did it get to the store. There’s an impact of greenhouse gas in the agricultural process. Therefore, the easiest way to reduce the emission associated with the food supply is not about watching what we eat. Instead, we need to think about those products that we don’t and no longer consume. That’s because there is approximately 40% of wasted food coming from different industries that increase the amount of methane. The food decays in the landfills potentially sums up to the total emission of greenhouse gas that affects consumption and production cycle. With that, it is helpful if we buy local, plant a garden, and avoid throwing leftovers.

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Transportation

Believe or not, air travel is the most significant contributor to greenhouse gas percentage. That’s because taking off and landing a plane take most fuel. But since people find convenience in it, these factors become ignored. In other modes of transportation, the train is one of the greenest. Then it is followed by automobile. The carbon impact of driving receives influence from several factors. These include the number of people inside the vehicle. That’s the reason why carpooling becomes an excellent option for less vehicle driving. But to save enough time and contribute less CO2 to the environment, taking the most efficient route needs to become a priority. This way, you can avoid using too much fuel in acceleration. However, when transporting a family across the country, it becomes different. It is expensive because it burns a lot of fossil fuels. So when on vacations, you might want to consider camping out in a ten, sightseeing in the park, trying outdoor activities, visiting adventure parks, or take time to re-explore the city without using too much fuel.

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Daily Use

Our daily use of household energy is the most significant contributor to greenhouse gas. That means the excessive demand for more electricity is creating tons of additional source of damage. But don’t think that using oil or gas will lessen the problem. These two things currently have a larger carbon footprint so depending on them can double the negative result in the atmosphere. Consider hydroelectricity or even solar power. This way, not only you save ample amount of fuel, but you can also sustain the energy with less greenhouse gas emission.

Since technology contributes a lot to the environment, its globalization is unstoppable. However, little things that we do can make a difference. Saving our environment will come from our effort to choose wisely.